Social Media in Trinity

The story so far…..

by Julia Ault

Social Media in Trinity

Social Media in Trinity

A quick look at what

we have achieved

over the past two

years.

Social Media in Trinity

We began with some fundamentals:

What is social media?

How can we use social media to enhance the learner experience in our schools and support units?

Social Media in Trinity

We looked at some popular social media sites:

Facebook: large global social network

Twitter: micro-blogging application

YouTube: video sharing

Delicious: social bookmarking

Ning: ‘walled garden’ social

networks

Blogger: personal blogs

WordPress: more blogs

Social Media in Trinity

Explored some methods of bringing the

content together:

Google: Add social media widgets and RSS feeds to your

iGoogle web portal to read and update content from

several different sites and applications in one place

Use Google Reader to subscribe to and share

content from blogs, websites, and social networks.

Posterous.com: Aggregate all your social media content

into one blog and share this blog with friends.

Social Media in Trinity

We then posed a few

questions and offered

some possible solutions:

Why would I want to use social media in my learning and teaching?

To encourage interaction between students and staff outside the traditional classroom setting.

To enable students to participate fully in your courses - even when off-campus - through discussion forums and blog comments, for example.

To enable students to develop their analytical skills and engage in reflective practice through use of personal journals and blogs.

Social Media in Trinity

To introduce students to a range of rich and powerful multi-media content such as videos, podcasts, interactive quizzes, games and photos/images.

To increase the breadth and depth of resources available by using rss feeds from reputable and respected online websites, journals and social bookmarking sites to bring relevant and interesting content directly to your students.

Social Media in Trinity

How can I use social media to enhance the student experience? Set up a private social network - somewhere like

Ning, Elgg or Big Tent for example - for your course and make use of blogs, videos, images, discussion boards and rss feeds all within the “walled garden”.

Create an online discussion forum or a blog for your students to participate and discuss articles via a moderated comment facility.

Set up a Twitter account and post ‘tweets’ containing useful information and/or links to articles on the web. In fact, you can create an online PLN….

Social Media in Trinity

Social Media in Trinity

We are now trying to introduce the concept of a ‘PLN’ using Twitter...

A PLN is a Personal Learning Network.

Twitter makes an excellent online PLN for Librarians, Teachers and Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL)Professionals.

A PLN can be local, national or global!One Educator wrote recently that:

“I have found more resources and got more useful advice for professional development in 3 months on Twitter than in the previous 5 years without it.”

.

Social Media in TrinityThe Trinity Learning Resources Centre have been using Twitter for a while now....

Social Media in Trinity

We are now looking at building a PLN tool box….

by following this 6 step program:

Create a Twitter accountCreate and Follow Twitter ListsCreate a HootSuite accountImport your social networks into

HootSuiteCreate tabs and streams of contentJoin in – Start Tweeting!

Social Media in Trinity

I have created a selection of Twitter lists to follow to enable folk to build up their PLN

Social Media in TrinityWe have set up an account on HootSuite for our Twitter lists and

PLN.

Social Media in Trinity

We have tabs for TEL lists as well as librarians!

Social Media in Trinity

Do It Yourself (DIY)

We are encouraging folk to create their own

Twitter / HootSuite / TweetDeck accounts

and follow our lists:

@juliadesigns

@lrcpln

@trinitylrc

(You don't actually need to follow the list creator to

follow lists)

Social Media in Trinity

The LRC created a blog last year....

Social Media in Trinity

And have now added more social media widgets to it....

Social Media in Trinity

Including Twitter of course!

Social Media in Trinity

Trinity LRC also has a Facebook page...

But what about the wider

University outside of the

Learning Resources

Centre?

Social Media in Trinity

Social Media in Trinity

Trinity University College is on Twitter

Social Media in Trinity

Trinity recently upgraded the VLE to Blackboard 9.1and is using it as an online Learning Portal

Social Media in Trinity

Many resources on Blackboard are available to all without a login in English and Welsh (via the LRC tab)

Social Media in TrinityIncluding a Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) section:

And

University of Wales,

Lampeter?

Social Media in Trinity

Social Media in Trinity

UWL launched a new online Learning Zone on Moodle last year....

Social Media in Trinity

UWL has a presence on Facebook....

Social Media in Trinity

And on Twitter....

Social Media in Trinity

UWL set up social bookmarks on Delicious....

Social Media in Trinity

As I did for Trinity of course!

And the future?

Social Media in Trinity

Social Media in Trinity

The Trinity Building Capacity Project (Wales)

(undertaken in partnership with UWL) is a JISC funded project focussing on the greater embedding of technology enhanced learning within the institution under the Building capacity programme which will:

“enhance the application of JISC outputs and outcomes in the Higher Education Sector. The programme will work with senior change agents in HEIs (Pro Vice-Chancellors or equivalent) to create senior management led change in a number of key strategic concerns that are facing that institution”.

Social Media in TrinityThe Trinity Building Capacity Project (Wales)

Social Media in Trinity

University of Wales, Trinity Saint David intends to....

merge blogs, Twitter accounts and Facebook pages

use Learning Objects: Campus Pack 4: Personal and Community Spaces as an umbrella portal between the two VLEs of Blackboard and Moodlein the short to medium term

continue to build and develop relationships with Gwella colleagues and the wider world of HE and FE, both on and offline....

Social Media in Trinity

Useful Resources:

Educator’s PLN Useful PLN resourcesTwitter Create a Twitter AccountTweepML Twitter Lists (1)Listorious Twitter Lists (2)SlideShare TEL Presentations JAYouTube TEL Videos JATEL Blog JAFfynnonweb Blog JALearning ObjectsTrinity Blackboard@juliadesigns (JA on Twitter)

Onward and upward to:

University of Wales,

Trinity Saint David

…from 1st September 2010

Social Media in Trinity